Deliverance

Based on 1 Samuel 7-9

"And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtoreth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtoreth, and served the Lord only." 1 Samuel 7:3‭-‬4

True deliverance from our troubling & challenging situations starts with delivering up sincere hearts to God! Samuel practiced this & continued to remind Israel to do the same. When they obeyed, victory took place miraculously against the Philistines. When they did not, God was farther from them. However, we will see that even in their carnal request for a king, God heard the cry of Israel delivered up against their enemies. God would use a king to help them, but He needed His people to deliver up sincere hearts to them once again, not just a cry for help. Kings would not always be helpful to Israel until they realize that God is the TRUE KING!

"And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel." 1 Samuel 7:10

When the people did put away the other gods, and Samuel offered up a sacrifice, The Lord miraculously caused a thunder, and the Philistines fled! Israel was then able to defeat them. They were delivered because they delivered true hearts to God in ridding themselves of their previous idols!

"Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben–ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel."
1 Samuel 7:12‭-‬13

How amazing! All the days of Samuel the Philistines were subdued. You'd think Israel would take this into consideration before asking for a king to rule over them, especially with the warning God spoke through Samuel...but even after seeing that great demonstration of God's power, the people still desired an earthly king. Part of the reason they wanted this was because Samuel's sons were made judges over Israel, but they did not end up following The Lord, so Samuel sought God about all this...

"And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." 1 Samuel 8:7

From how amazing, to how truly heartbreaking...and it's all because true hearts were no longer delivered up to God, but the people's affections were directed more to worldly power, modeling the order of other nations by having a king rule over them. They were delivered unto self instead of God...

"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." 1 Samuel 8:19‭-‬20

Had they not seen how God thundered & fought their battles!? It seems so obvious, yet we can all look to our own experiences & realize how many times God brought us through, and we may have refused to give Him the glory & get closer to Him, fully surrendering, delivering and offering up our hearts and lives. Look at how God comes through, how He delivers, how He loves us...we need to go further than we are now!

"To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me." 1 Samuel 9:16

So God sent Saul to Samuel, and God heard the cry of the people. He not only heard their cry for a king, but a cry for help...and God STILL wanted to deliver & protect His people! As mentioned though, Israel would experience some things under their kings which would not be in their favor...but God hears our cries. He wants our hearts. He desires to deliver. Let's deliver ourselves over to that deliverance! No king or earthly authority is able to do what God can...although we should respect their position, we should only serve God alone!